Ward boundaries recommendations will change Pinner

Harrow ward boundary changes put forward by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) could affect Pinner, Pinner South and Hatch End.

The LGBCE is an independent body which carries out electoral reviews, meaning it decides:

• How many councillors are needed.

• How many wards or electoral divisions there should be, where their boundaries are and what they should be called.

• How many councillors should represent each ward or division.

The group is aiming to change the boundaries because currently, the value of each vote in council elections varies depending on where you live in Harrow. Some councillors currently represent many more or fewer voters than others; this is known as ‘electoral inequality’, which the commission aims to balance out.

The commission took advice from the Conservative Group, specifically citing councillors Richard Almond and Norman Stevenson as well as “a number of local residents” to come to some of its conclusions.

Here are some highlights from the report:

“We are using the railway line between Pinner South and Rayners Lane as a boundary, although we acknowledge that the area immediately to the 18 north of the railway line has links with the Rayners Lane shopping area to the south. However, we have been persuaded by the evidence from councillors Almond and Stevenson and a number of local residents that the area north of Village Way has stronger links to Pinner South.

“We have decided not to adopt the council’s proposals for these wards because we consider the railway line in this area to be a significant boundary. In addition, we were concerned that its proposal divides the Pinner Green area, with part being transferred to Pinner South ward.

“As Pinner lies at the edge of the borough, the options are somewhat limited. We are transferring the area to the north of Yeading Walk to Pinner South ward to secure better electoral equality in our North Harrow ward. Although transferring this area increases the electoral variance in Pinner South to eight per cent by 2024, leaving it in North Harrow ward would give this ward 12 per cent more electors by 2024. We do not consider that it is possible to take only part of this area without dividing the community. We also note that all the roads to the north of Yeading Walk have good access into our proposed Pinner South ward via Rayners Lane.

“On balance, we consider that our proposals provide strong boundaries, particularly retaining the railway line as a boundary between the Pinner wards, while also securing good electoral equality.”

The body’s recommendations for Harrow were published on December 4, 2018 and a consultation open to the public closes on February 11.